WCC NEWS: Young Christians, Jews, and Muslims begin a peace-building journey

The Christians, Jews, and Muslims laughing and chatting together, learning about peace were not in an aspirational story; they are authentic, live young people having fun at the Emerging Peacemakers Forum. 52 young people from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe are taking part in the Emerging Peacemakers Forum on 5-14 July hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Muslim Council of Elders, and Rose Castle Foundation in Switzerland. Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC 6 July 2023 The 52 young people from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe, the youngest being 20, are taking part in the 5-14 July forum hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Muslim Council of Elders, and Rose Castle Foundation, just outside Geneva, Switzerland. The setting for the forum is the Ecumenical Centre at Bossey, overlooked by Swiss Alpine mountains and Lake Leman. They spent their first day getting to know each other informally. "Even years on, this group still communicate regularly…So it's a very, very special group that you are just beginning. And we hope and pray you will begin to support each other in the years ahead," said Canon Sarah Snyder, founding director of Rose Castle Foundation. "And as you all become president of your country, yes…then you will also be able to have a big team around you who understand the principles of coexistence, tolerance, and harmony, that in peace, the things that every nation needs to thrive." "We are convinced that our faith tradition, our cultural traditions, and our understanding of how we are different, not just how we're the same, are really important ingredients for sustainable peace." Mohamed Elamin, the program director at the Muslim Council of Elders, said, "One of the pillars of the Muslim Council of Elders is to work with you—empowering youth by giving them the necessary techniques, tools, and also the knowledge to lead that process of establishing peace in their communities.” Participants of the Emerging Peacemakers Forum at the WCC Ecumenical Institute in Bossey. Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC What coexistence means He said, "For the next 10 days, you will share food, memories and smiles together; and hopefully, this will teach us what coexistence means to us, and we can carry memories from these days that will us forever." On behalf of the Muslim Council of Elders, Elamin thanked the WCC and Rose Castle Foundation for their efforts in getting this edition of the forum going. Carla Khijoyan, the WCC's programme executive for the Middle East, an Armenian from Lebanon, told the peace group that nobody can stand before them if they choose peace. "You are at the forefront of most important issues of today’s world, whether climate change, conflict, racism… You are always those impacted the most, but you are as well those who have the power to bring change. You have the freedom to choose peace, hope, dignity and life". Founded in 1946 Bossey's academic dean, Rev. Prof. Dr Simone Sinn from Germany, noted that the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey was founded in 1946, one year after the end of the Second World War. "Textbook learning is one thing, but learning with and from people is the deepest, and also, the most authentic way of learning about peace," she told the group who spent the first morning in activities to know each other better. "We cannot achieve peace unilaterally, but we need to bring people around the table to work towards it." Sinn said that at the beginning, the Ecumenical Institute focussed mainly on Christian churches bringing together the huge diversity of Christianity. "And then, along the way, we included more and more different faith traditions. So today, we have different programs that include the interfaith dimension.” Storytelling essential Marianne Ejdersten, the WCC's communications director, told the meeting, "We know this is an important message to the world. And we are all together for many days working for peace and bridge-building. And storytelling is an essential part of that operation.” Speakers at the forum include WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay; Judge Mohammad Abdulsalem, secretary general of the Council of Muslim Elders; Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby; and others. Pillay has expressed joy at being one of the three partners hosting the event. "We firmly believe young people have the potential to be powerful agents of peace and social transformation," he said. The secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Elders, Judge Mohammed Abdelsalam, earlier emphasized that "the Emerging Peacemakers Forum aims to shape a global youth movement capable of actively contributing to positive change and finding innovative solutions to contemporary global challenges." Photo gallery of the Emerging Peacemakers Forum 2023 Learn more about the Emerging Peacemakers Forum Participants of the Emerging Peacemakers Forum gathered at the WCC Ecumenical institute in Bossey, Switzerland. Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland